Giant, surging black thorns swiftly enveloped the crowd.
"Ah, ahgh!"
"Ugh!"
Several paladins, unable to defend in time, were impaled by the thorns.
Their skin rapidly wrinkled and shriveled, turning them into mummies.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"Madness! A demon has appeared!"
The audience screamed, frantically fleeing the venue.
Maitri smiled with satisfaction.
"Ah, ah... As expected, the vitality of paladins has a unique taste. No delicacy can compare."
"You... you monster!"
Enraged, Claire gripped her greatsword with both hands and charged at Maitri.
Other paladins followed her lead.
Maitri pointed at them.
"Hmm, a female paladin wielding a greatsword bigger than herself... 'Hound' Claire, I presume."
The thorns converged in the direction he pointed, blocking the attack from Claire and the paladins.
The thorns were damaged in places, but Maitri, undeterred, looked at Claire and smirked.
"Ha, ha, ha. Is that all the strength you possess? That would be disappointing."
As he muttered, the damaged surface of the thorns instantly regenerated.
Claire clenched her teeth.
"How could that be, you villain! Everyone, use your full strength!"
A holy aura overflowed from Claire's body. The paladins also activated their divine buffs.
Isabella, who had arrived unnoticed, cast a divine buff on them, shouting,
"Aim for his heart. It's his only weakness!"
"Yes, Saintess!"
Claire and the paladins charged at Maitri with an intensity unlike before.
"Indeed, a Saintess. But it's meaningless if you can't reach me."
Maitri condensed the thorns into a single mass, shaping it like a giant club.
He flicked his finger towards Claire.
"Strike."
The thorns swung back and then forcefully moved in the direction of his finger.
The paladins, mid-charge, collided with the thorns.
Boom──!
The paladins were sent flying by the impact.
"Ah, ahgh!"
"Gr...agh!"
Maitri chanted,
"Pierce them."
Immediately after, countless thorns erupted from the ground, impaling the paladins.
The dozens of paladins impaled turned into mummies, just like before.
"Damn it...!"
Claire, who barely managed to block the thorns with her greatsword, gritted her teeth.
They had lost more than half their strength in an instant.
Despite having vanquished many evils, she had never encountered a monster like this.
Despair colored her face.
Then,
"Isabella, please hold him for just 1 second when he raises his finger!"
Theo emerged from behind Maitri, charging at him with great speed.
Maitri quickly noticed Theo's approach and pointed his finger in Theo's direction.
"Pierce...ugh."
Maitri felt a hot pain at his fingertips.
For a moment, paralyzed, he realized a thrown dagger from Theo had severed one of his fingers.
'Cut off by a mere dagger...?'
Anticipating the enemies wouldn't be fools, he had coated all his fingers in an alloy.
Yet, Theo's thrown dagger had easily sliced off his finger.
...But that thought was fleeting.
Raising his remaining fingers, Maitri pointed again in Theo's direction.
Swoosh──!
Another thrown dagger cut off two more of Maitri's fingers.
This time, two fingers flew off.
Suddenly, Maitri found himself within Theo's striking distance.
Swoosh.
Theo drew the [Demon Sword] from his waist.
His blade swiftly aimed for Maitri's heart.
"Block it!"
Maitri yelled, and thorns surged up, enveloping him completely.
However, as soon as Theo's sword touched them, the thorns were easily sliced through.
'No choice!'
Maitri gathered thorns in the direction of the incoming sword thrust.
Still, it was barely a defense. The thorns kept getting sliced away, but Theo's sword didn't lose its force.
Maitri shouted.
"This is absurd...! Even if it's a divine artifact... this shouldn't be possible!"
"Scum."
With that, Theo released the grip on his sword for a moment.
Maitri's body, trying to reduce the impact of Theo's attack even slightly, tilted towards Theo.
"...Huh."
Losing his balance, Maitri tilted towards Theo.
At that moment, swish!
Theo's sword sliced off both of Maitri's legs below the knees.
Maitri fell to the ground.
The volume of thorns had significantly decreased, making it possible to end it quickly.
But Theo didn't move.
His body, having used [Overrun] and energy to its limit, stopped functioning.
Theo, watching Claire and the paladins furiously beating Maitri's thorns, murmured,
"...Please, take care of the rest."
As if answering, Claire and the paladins struck Maitri's thorns even more fiercely.
Thud.
Theo collapsed to the ground, still clutching his sword.
About 20 seconds after Theo collapsed,
The thorns protecting Maitri's entire body were nearly gone.
The paladins shouted,
"The thorns are almost gone!"
"Let's muster a bit more strength! Vengeance for our comrades is near!"
"Renimid, grant us strength!"
Perhaps due to the anticipation of victory, the paladins' eyes were filled with exhilaration.
No emotion resided in Maitri's eyes.
"...Huh. So this is the end of my life as a human."
He neither despaired nor was frustrated by the impending death.
Merely with dead eyes, he bit the candy hidden under his tongue, murmuring.
"It's a contract, Andros. I offer my remaining body and soul."
Simultaneously, whoosh─!
Whoosh──!
Gigantic thorns erupted around Maitri, several times larger than before.
"Ah, ah!"
"Ugh, agh!"
The paladins, who were attacking him, were impaled by the thorns.
Only Claire survived.
Her greatsword [Claymore] had blocked the attack but was left with a huge hole.
But it wasn't a perfect defense.
Deep gashes were left on her abdomen and limbs.
Shatter.
Soon, the [Claymore] was shattered into pieces.
Claire, covering her wounds with her hands, looked at Maitri.
Maitri was absorbing vitality from the paladins.
Claire sensed her impending death.
'My arms and legs won't move anymore... Is this the end?'
Maitri, no longer seeing Claire as a threat, focused on absorbing vitality.
His severed fingers and legs were regenerating.
A bit away, outside the range of the thorns.
"..."
Isabella looked back and forth between the impaled paladins, Maitri, and Theo, who had fainted.
Twitch, twitch, twitch.
Theo's fingers began to move.
Isabella's eyes widened.
"Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay?! That monster made a contract with a demon! It's at least mid-level, that one!"
There was no response, but following his fingers, Theo's toes also began to move.
Then, Theo's mouth started to quiver.
It wasn't a clear sentence, and it was hard to hear.
"What did you say?"
Isabella brought her ear close to Theo's mouth.
─Must, kill, the, demon...
"..."
─Wake, me, up...
Isabella looked down at Theo with sad eyes.
He was still holding his sword.
'Even in such a wretched state...'
She decided, taking both of Theo's hands firmly.
"I really hate entrusting everything to someone else. How can you trust people? Everyone is so fake. But Theo... No. Because it's you, I'll try to trust."
Still holding Theo's hands, she began to recite a holy spell.
"O faithful lamb of Renimid, I humbly beseech thee. Please let this man hear the 11th Commandment of Renimid."
At that moment, a beam of light burst forth from Theo, shooting up into the sky.
There are a total of 18 Commandments of Renimid, and those in the double digits, starting from the 10th, have extraordinary effects.
The effect of the 11th Commandment is to restore the subject to their peak condition.
Even if barely alive, it can bring them back, as long as they're not dead.
The effect is as overwhelming as the cost is great.
The cost involves the caster losing half of their accumulated divine energy and falling into a comatose state for several days.
"Rest now, Isabella."
Theo, having risen, looked down at Isabella, who had collapsed.
"I won't disappoint you."
Theo then turned his gaze towards Maitri.
Maitri was undergoing demonization; horns were growing on his head, and black wings were protruding from his back.
Thump, thump, thump.
Theo's heart raced.
His veins bulged as if his blood was surging.
Redness filled his eyes.
He felt a power boiling over within him, an urge to hack away at that evil immediately.
He hadn't activated [Overrun] or summoned his energy.
It was simply the activation of his bloodline trait, [Descendant of a Hero].
"I'll be back."
Theo immediately charged towards Maitri.
